Alli seeks to find ruthless streak in front of goal
REUTERS - Dele Alli is keen to improve his finishing after the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder admitted that his profligacy in front of goal has at times left him feeling frustrated this season.
Alli scored 10 times for Tottenham last season and while he is yet to match the heights of his debut campaign, he has chipped in with a fairly respectable return of three goals in 11 appearances in all competitions.
The 20-year-old's lack of sharpness was evident in Tuesday's goalless Champions League draw at Bayer Leverkusen, however, when he failed to make the most of Kieran Trippier's pinpoint cross in the first half.
"It was a fantastic ball by (Kieran) Trippier against Leverkusen and, to be honest with you, I want to be scoring goals and I feel like I should have put that in," Alli told British media.
"I couldn't believe it when I missed it but I've got to keep working hard and make sure that I start being more clinical. Personally, I feel like I should have scored that one.
"You've got to put it behind you and just look for the next chance and try to put the next one away. You can't be dwelling on mistakes. When things don't go your way, you've got to keep trying to do the right things."
Alli, who got a three-match ban near the end of last season for punching West Brom's Claudio Yacob, has collected just one yellow card this campaign and manager Mauricio Pochettino believes the player has learned to tame his fiery personality.
"It is all a process with the younger lads to be more mature, with more experience, now more focused on playing football," Pochettino said.
"It is like when you have a wild horse and you need to put it in a box and domesticate it, no? He is a big talent but he was a bit wild. Now he is more domesticated. But you can never lose that wild side. That side might make him a special player."
Spurs, who are third in the Premier League, a point behind leaders Manchester City after eight games, travel to face 11th-placed Bournemouth on Saturday.
(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)